Fishing

February 27, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Henry Chee

His vessel, Malia, was known as the ‘Grey Ghost of the Kona Coast’. He had the uncanny ability to venture solo away from fleets and find the best marlin fishing available. (Cisco)

“Neither (he nor his father) had ever been in a boat, until the day in 1935 that (Henry) went fishing with someone here.” (Chee; LA Times)

Born in Honolulu in 1910, Henry Chee and his wife Ellen moved to Kona in 1931. (IGFA) From a family of banana farmers, Chee entered the charter fishing business in 1935.

Interestingly, many believe bananas are a jinx and bring bad fishing luck. Not so for Chee. (Rizzuto) “He went out with Findlayson one afternoon, and they caught a marlin. Dad told me the sound of that very first screaming reel stayed with him all those years.” (Chee; LA Times)

“‘When Dad started out here, in the late 1930s, there was no such thing as radios on boats. So he was in partnership on his first boat with a man named Charlie Findlayson, who owned a bunch of pigeons.’”

“‘So if someone fishing with Dad caught a marlin, he’d write a note on a tiny piece of paper, put it in a capsule on the pigeon’s leg, and release it.’”

“‘The pigeon would fly back to Kona, through Mrs. Findlayson’s kitchen window. She’d spread the word around town. If it was a big fish Henry would be bringing in, she’d arrange for the newspaper photographer to be there, at the pier.’” (Chee; LA Times)

Throughout his lifetime, Captain Chee set an unprecedented number of game fish catch records which helped make his favorite fishing grounds, the Kona Coast, world famous. (HIBT)

“Henry Chee originated marlin fishing on the Kona Coast. He developed it, he pioneered it, he taught everyone how to catch those big blues.”

“There are a lot of young skippers here today using techniques that they don’t even know Henry started. It’s no exaggeration to call Henry Chee our Babe Ruth.” (Phil Parker; LA Times)

He started using the first plastic marlin lures in Hawai‘i in the 1950s. And he made them himself. (LA Times)

Plastic was new in 1949 and Henry was one of the first to experiment with it. Intrigued when he came upon a screwdriver embedded in resin hardened in a jar, and using the family kitchen as his laboratory …

Henry borrowed bar glasses for molds; inserted copper tubing, doll eyes and shell (for color and reflection); poured in fiberglass resin; boiled the glass on the stove; and removed the hardened blank.

He turned it on a lathe and hand-cut the attack angle with a miter box — all by eye so no two of his ‘straight runners’ were exactly alike.

Skirts were made from red inner tubes, fish skins and oilcloth tablecloths. Each lure was tested in the most scientific way: if it caught fish, he kept it; if it didn’t, he didn’t. (IGFA)

Elsewhere in the fishing world, anglers were convinced marlin would only take baits. The ‘obvious’ truth to bait fishermen: a marlin attacked food fish with its bill and then ate its prey only after it had battered the injured baitfish into submission.

Any lure-catch would, therefore, be a total accident, and there was no useful percentage in accidental catches.

But Henry and his followers were catching those ‘accidents’ every day including some astonishing world record blue marlin and yellowfin tuna. (Rizzuto)

“In 1955, when everyone but Dad was using bait, there were 175 marlin caught. Dad caught 63 of them, all on plastic lures.” (Chee; LA Times)

By the 1950s, Henry Chee’s fame had spread to the mainland. Pictures of celebrities standing next to huge blues caught in Hawaii began to appear in newspapers and magazines. He was the guide for Henry Fonda, Errol Flynn, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Arthur Godfrey, Roy Rogers, Gordon McRae, Hal Wallis and Walter Lantz. (LA Times)

“‘In the old days, when I started running a boat here in 1954, there were four boats. Now look out there. There are something like 54 to 60 now. I can’t keep track of them.’”

“‘Looking back, it seems like there were more fish then. But then, we lost a lot of marlin. Our gear wasn’t as good as it is today.’” (Parker; LA Times, 1986)

Back then, caring for linen fishing line was a full-time job. (IGFA) “Dad had to work a lot harder in the old days, when skippers had to dry out the line every night, to prevent rot.”

“Dad would wrap it a few times around his back and roll his shoulders, trying to break it. If it broke, he’d throw it all out and load up with new line.” (Chee; LA Times)

Chee died in 1965. “He had a stroke one day while gaffing a marlin, and died three days later (at the age of 55).” (Chee LA Times)

The Henry Chee Memorial Award was established in 1965 by the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament Board of Governors; it is given to the charter boat captain with the highest number of billfish points scored on their boat during the five days of tournament fishing. (HIBT)

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Henry-Chee-Lures-Rizzuto

Henry Chee-IGFA

October 17, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hawaiians had five methods of fishing: spearing, hand-catching, baskets, hook and line and nets.

There were two kinds of spearing fish, below and above water (above-water spearing was very rarely used.) Below water was the most important; the spear used by the diver was a slender stick, 6 to 7 feet long, made of very hard wood and sharply pointed on one end.

Some fishermen dive to well-known habitats of certain fish and lobsters and, thrusting their arms under rocks or in holes, bring out the fish one by one and put them into a bag attached for the purpose to the loin cloth. Women frequently do the same in shallow waters, and catch fish by hand from under coral projections.

There are two ways of octopus fishing. In shallow water the spear is used. Women generally attend to this. Those caught in shallow waters vary from 1 to 4 feet in length, but the larger kinds live in deep water always and are known as blue-water octopus.

Deep-water octopus are caught with cowries; one (or more) of these shells is attached to a string with an oblong pebble on the face of the shell. A hole is pierced in one end of the back of one of the shells through which the line is passed. A hook whose point stands almost perpendicular to the shaft or shank is then fastened to the end of the line.

The fisherman having arrived at his fishing-grounds first chews and spits on the water a mouthful of kukui (candle-nut) meat which renders the water glassy and clear; he then drops the shell with hook and line into the water and swings it over a place likely to be inhabited by an octopus.

The octopus, when in its hole, is always keeping a lookout for anything eatable that may come within reach of its eight arms. The moment a cowry is perceived, an arm is shot out and the shell clasped; one arm after the other comes out.

Finally, the whole body is withdrawn from the hole and attaches itself to the cowry, which it closely hugs, curling itself all around it.

It remains very quiet while being rapidly drawn up through the water, till, just as its head is exposed above water it raises it, when the fisherman pulls the string so as to bring its head against the edge of the canoe and it is killed by a blow from a club which is struck between the eyes.

Torch-light fishing is practiced on calm dark nights. The fish are either caught with small scoop-nets or are speared. Torch-light fishing is always done in shallow water where one can wade (walking without a splash, that would disturb the fish.) The torches are made of split bamboos secured at regular intervals with leaves, or of twigs of sandal-wood bound together.

There were four kinds of basket fishing. One had a bonnet shape, woven from the ‘ie‘ie vine/shrub; it was used to catch shrimp in streams. The second is with a small basket made from the vines of morning glory. A light framework of twigs is first tied together and then the vines, leaves and all, are wound into a basket about 3-4 feet in circumference and 1 and a half deep.

Pounded shrimp and cocoa-nut fiber are occasionally placed at the bottom of the basket for bait, but usually the scent of the bruised and withering leaves seems to be sufficient.

Women always attend to this kind of fishing. They wade out to suitable places, generally small sandy openings in coral ground or reef, and let the baskets down suitably weighted to keep them in position, and move away to let the fish enter. She then grabs the basket and deposits the caught fish into a gourd, and sets the basket in a fresh place.

The third kind of basket is shallow, of about the same size as the above but wider mouthed, used in deep water for catching a small, fiat fish called ‘uiui’ that makes its appearance at intervals of from ten, fifteen, or twenty years. In these baskets cooked pumpkins, half-roasted sweet potatoes, or raw ripe papayas were placed for bait.

The fourth kind of basket is the largest kind used in fishing by the Hawaiians. These are round, rather fiat baskets, 4 to 5 feet in diameter by 2½ to 3 in depth, and about 1½ Ii across the mouth. A small cylinder or cone of wicker is attached by the large end to the mouth and turned inward towards the bottom of the basket.

The fishermen generally feed the fish (coarse, brownish-yellow alga, ripe bread-fruit, cooked pumpkins, half-roasted sweet potatoes and papayas) for a week or more before taking any, using a large basket of the same kind, without the inverted cylinder and wider in the month, to allow the fish free ingress and egress.

After a week or two of feeding they become tame, and baskets full of fish can be drawn up in the taking basket without in the least disturbing those that are still greedily feeding in the feeding basket.

For fishing with rod, hook and line the bait most liked is shrimp; earthworms are sometimes used and any obtainable fry of fish.

The fisherman takes a handful of shrimps, baits his hooks, and then, bruising the remainder and wrapping it up in cocoa-nut fiber, ties it with a pebble on the line and close to the hooks. The bruised matter spreads through the water when the line is dropped and serves to attract fishes to the vicinity of the hooks.

For hook-and-line fishing practiced in deep water, bonitos and lobsters are the usual bait; for lack of these any kind of fish is used. For deep-sea fishing the hook and line are used without rods, and our fishermen sometimes use lines over 100 fathoms in length.

There are two general divisions of the kinds of nets in use here, the long nets and the bag or purse nets. The finest of the long nets has a mesh one-half inch wide. It is generally 1½ fathoms in depth and from 40 to 60 fathoms in length.

It is used to surround and catch the small mullets and awa in shallow waters for the purpose of stocking fish ponds. Small pebbles, frequently ringed or pierced, are used for sinkers; pieces of hibiscus and kukui tree for the floaters. Nets of 1 to 2 inch mesh are used for the larger mullet.

The finest of all kinds of nets (nae) has only one-fourth inch mesh. The ‘pua’ net is for young mullet fry for stocking ponds or for eating.

This net is generally a piece, a fathom square, attached on two sides to sticks about 3 feet in length and fulled in, the bottom rope being shorter than the upper one and forming an irregular square opening to a shallow bag, which is supplemented by a long narrow bag about 3 or 4 inches wide and 2 feet deep. (All of the information here is from Hawaiian Fishing Implements and Methods of Fishing, Emma Metcalf Beckley Nakuina)

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Fishooks-BM

September 5, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Fish For The Future

We need to be honest with others and ourselves – and face reality. The marine resources surrounding Hawai‘i are on a decline – and have been for quite some time.

A scientific report notes, “The total biomass of reef fishes in the Main Hawaiian Islands is less than a quarter of what it was a century ago.”

If we do not change the way we use our nearshore reefs, fisheries and marine resources, there is no reason to expect the decline to stop.

There are many threats and impacts to the marine resources, including: Invasive Species, Sedimentation and Run-off, Pollution and Nutrients, Marine Debris, Recreational Use, Coastal Development, Weather (i.e. hurricanes, global warming, etc) and Fishing.

The Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council (WESPAC – one of eight regional fishery management councils) is composed of 16-members members and is the policy-making organization for the management of fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ – generally 3- to 200-miles offshore) of member US interests.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is the guiding document for fisheries management actions. In it are “National Standards.”

The first National Standard states that any fishery management plan, its rules, and conservation and management measures shall prevent overfishing.

The eight Regional Councils develop management plans for marine fisheries in waters seaward of state waters of their individual regions.

Management includes areas around the State of Hawai‘i, Territory of American Samoa, Territory of Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and US Pacific island possessions, an area of nearly 1.5 million square miles.

Plans and specific management measures (such as fishing seasons, quotas and closed areas) are developed. These plans and measures are implemented by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

I am very concerned about purported “management” of our marine resources – particularly, the stated goal of “sustainable fishery management plans” that have proven to be insufficient to sustain the fisheries.

Here’s what’s happening with some of the managed species:
• Big Eye Tuna – NOAA Fisheries announced in June 2004 that overfishing was occurring – it continues
• Yellowfin Tuna – The 2006 assessment results indicated overfishing is occurring – it continues
• NWHI lobster fishery – NOAA Fisheries declared an emergency closure in 2000
• North Pacific albacore – the stock is considered fully exploited
• Southwest Pacific Swordfish – Since 1997, catch rates and mean size have been declining
• Striped Marlin in the Southwest Pacific – levels of fishing mortality may exceed the maximum sustainable yield
• Bottomfish – In May 2005, NOAA Fisheries determined that over-fishing is occurring in the Main Hawaiian Islands – it continues
• Black Coral – Due to the reduction in large colonies the minimum size of harvested colonies was raised
• Swordfish – NOAA periodically halted longline in 2006 and 2011 because of too many endangered sea turtle interactions
(Overfishing means the rate at which a species is being harvested is greater than it can sustain itself.)

Obviously, we need to do things differently.

The decline in marine resources has an enormous impact on local, subsistence and recreational fishermen, and coastal fishing communities statewide.

I was honored when President George W. Bush appointed me to serve as one of the five United States Commissioners to represent the United States’ interests on the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC – an international fisheries Commission.)

It was interesting to see how fisheries management measures are complicated by unrelated treaties and relationships between the countries. The good news is there are attempts to resolve the differences.

Likewise, I was honored to serve as a member of WESPAC – initially, as a representative for the State of Hawai‘i, then, a term as an at-large member on the Council.

However, I was mostly frustrated while serving on WESPAC – too often, it looked like decisions were made for the benefit of short-term fish harvesting, rather than long-term fisheries sustainability.

I hope in the future WESPAC more-fully addresses its obligations and opportunities to prevent overfishing and protect the resources for future generations.

We all need to work together to protect the resources – resource managers, fishers, environmentalists, scientists and community.

But we’ve got to face reality and do things differently – for the resources – otherwise, there won’t be Fish for the Future.

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May 10, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Olonā

The ancient Hawaiians made use of a considerable range of fiber plants. Some of these they brought with them; others were discovered in the new island home.

Naturally available to the Hawaiians were a variety of vines, grasses, and tree barks that could be used as cord with little or no modification, but they found that, with a bit more effort, they could produce string, twine, or rope that was easier to handle and lasted a longer time.

First among the Hawaiians’ cordage resources, however, was an endemic forest plant, olonā. Its excellence made olonā cordage a highly valued item, not only among the Hawaiians themselves but also, later, among Western sailors, and its virtues enabled Hawaiians to create some of the finest pre-contact handcraft in the Pacific. (Abbott)

“Olonā was a thing highly prized by one and all. It was very valuable and planters raised it extensively. … There were, however, few places where olonā would grow and hence, not all people cultivated.”

The ancient Hawaiians undoubtedly discovered the valuable fiber of this plant at a very early time. They were intimately familiar with the local flora and its economic utilization. The olonā is mentioned in many of the old songs and legends.

“It grew in rainy districts and in marsh lands and in those parts of the mountain which were saturated with moisture; it did not grow on bare mountain sides but on those ridges where bananas grew and water ran constantly and where there was plenty of moisture. It throve on the windward side of the islands and few places besides.”

“When people in old days planted olonā they first looked for a good place in the mountains to plant, a valley where it was fertile and flat, perhaps below a cliff in the bed of a stream.”

“Here they cut down the pulu ferns, chopped down the trees and cleared out the weeds. The planting was done like the planting of the wauke from the young shoots or cuttings from the ground stem.”

“A field of olonā that grew uniformly with every stalk and every leaf alike was the planter’s delight, and if it grew on a level, two or three acres or more of it, his joy knew no bounds. It all grew up like the hairs on the head, with straight stalks and rounded leaves. In a year or more it was full-grown and the leaves began to turn yellow.” (Kamakau; Bishop Museum)

Special interest is attached to the olonā fiber as it is generally recognized to be the strongest and most durable fiber in the world. No other fiber is recorded to exceed it in these two important characteristics.

This fiber is the best of all fibers known at the present time. The three dominant features are (1) the great tensile strength (about three times the strength of commercial Manila – about eight times as strong as hemp;) (2) its great resistance to deterioration in salt water; and (3) its pliability, and thus its adaptability for spinning by hand.

Among the Hawaiians it was put to a great variety of uses. All fishing lines and nets of the best quality were invariably made of olonā, because of its high resistance to the action of salt water. (MacCaughey, 1918)

Fishing lines and nets made from this fiber by expert Hawaiians present an appearance of so uniform a caliber and twist that it would lead one to believe that the fiber had been made by the most intricate machinery.

Olonā lines and nets which have been in more or less constant use for over a century are almost as good as new, and are handed down from generation to generation as precious objects. Most of the natives are very unwilling to part with any of their fishing gear that is made of olonā.

The very serviceable carrying-nets, koho, in which the wooden calabashes and other objects were borne, were commonly made of olonā fiber. Olonā was not used for making the bark-cloth or kapa itself, but threads and cords of olonā were used for sewing the kapa.

A stout cord of olonā was usually attached to the wooden war-clubs and dagger-like swords, for suspending the weapon from the wrist. This prevented the loss of the weapon during the fray. For fastening the stone adz, ‘o‘o, to its wooden handle, olonā was always the preferred fiber.

It was used for the very fine and pliable netting which served as a groundwork for the feathers, in the construction of the splendid garments and insignia of the ancient royalty and ali‘i. The brilliant scarlet and yellow feathers were skillfully woven by the women upon the imperishable framework of olonā. (MacCaughey, 1918)

“Olonā is so universally the basis of Hawaiian feather cloaks, that feathers mounted on any other substance would be at once classed as foreign to the group.” The fineness of the net varies as does the size of the thread used for cloaks.

In featherwork, feathers are mounted and tied with olonā cordage to nets made of well twisted, closely netted olonā. Feathers are inserted in rows and bound by two or three turns of the olonā threads. (Brigham)

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